Ladislaus I (, , , ; 27 June 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza (or Adelaide) of Poland. After Béla's death in 1063, Ladislaus and his elder brother, Géza, acknowledged their cousin Solomon as the lawful king in exchange for receiving their father's former duchy, which included one-third of the kingdom. They cooperated with Solomon for the next decade. Ladislaus's most popular legend, which narrates his fight with a "Cuman" (a Turkic nomad marauder) who abducted a Hungarian girl, is connected to this period. The brothers' relationship with Solomon deteriorated in the early 1070s, and they rebelled against him. Géza was proclaimed king in 1074, but Solomon maintained control of the western regions of his kingdom. During Géza's reign, Ladislaus was his brother's most influential adviser.
Géza died in 1077, and his supporters made Ladislaus king. Solomon resisted Ladislaus with assistance from King Henry IV of Germany. Ladislaus supported Henry IV's opponents during the Investiture Controversy. In 1081, Solomon abdicated and acknowledged Ladislaus's reign, but he conspired to regain the royal crown, and Ladislaus imprisoned him. Ladislaus canonized the first Hungarian saints (including his distant relatives, King Stephen I and Duke Emeric) in 1085. He set Solomon free during the canonization ceremony.
After a series of civil wars, Ladislaus's main focus was the restoration of public safety. He introduced severe legislation, punishing those who violated property rights with death or mutilation. He occupied almost all Croatia in 1091, which marked the beginning of an expansion period for the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Ladislaus's victories over the Pechenegs and Cumans ensured the security of his kingdom's eastern borders for about 150 years. His relationship with the Holy See deteriorated during the last years of his reign, as the popes claimed that Croatia was their fief, but Ladislaus denied their claims.
Ladislaus was canonized on 27 June 1192 by Pope Celestine III. Legends depict him as a pious knight-king, "the incarnation of the late-medieval Hungarian ideal of chivalry." He is a popular saint in Hungary and neighboring nations, where many churches are dedicated to him.
Early years (before 1064)
Ladislaus was the second son of the future King Béla I of Hungary and his wife, Richeza (or Adelaide), who was a daughter of King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland. Ladislaus and his elder brother, Géza, were born in Poland, where Béla had settled in the 1030s after being banished from Hungary. Ladislaus was born around 1040. Ladislaus's "physical and spiritual makeup testified to God's gracious will even at his birth", according to his late-12th-century Legend. The almost contemporaneous Gallus Anonymus wrote that Ladislaus was "raised from childhood in Poland" and almost became a "Pole in his ways and life".The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles (ch. 27.), p. 97. He received a Slavic name: "Ladislaus" is derived from "Vladislav".
Béla and his family returned to Hungary around 1048. Béla received the so-called "Duchy"which encompassed one-third of the kingdomfrom his brother, King Andrew I of Hungary. The Illuminated Chronicle mentions that Andrew's son, Solomon, "was anointed king with the consent of Duke Bela and his sons Geysa and Ladislaus"The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 65.92), p. 115. in 1057 or 1058.
Béla, who had been Andrew's heir before Solomon's coronation, left for Poland in 1059; his sons accompanied him. They returned with Polish reinforcements and began a rebellion against Andrew. After defeating Andrew, Béla was crowned king on 6 December 1060. Solomon left the country, taking refuge in the Holy Roman Empire. Béla I died on 11 September 1063, some time before German troops entered Hungary in order to restore Solomon. Ladislaus and his brothers, Géza and Lampert, went back to Poland, and Solomon was once again crowned king in Székesfehérvár. The three brothers returned when the Germans left Hungary. To avoid another civil war, the brothers signed a treaty with Solomon on 20 January 1064, acknowledging Solomon's reign in exchange for their father's duchy.
Duke in Hungary (1064–1077)
Ladislaus and Géza probably divided the administration of their duchy; Ladislaus seems to have received the regions around Bihar (now Biharia, Romania). Géza and Ladislaus cooperated with King Solomon between 1064 and 1071. The most popular story in Ladislaus's later legendshis fight with a "Cuman" warrior who abducted a Christian maidenoccurred during this period. The relationship between the king and his cousins became tense in the early 1070s. When Géza accompanied Solomon on a military campaign against the Byzantine Empire in 1072, Ladislaus stayed behind with half of the ducal troops in Nyírség to "avenge his brother with a strong hand"The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 79.111), p. 119. if Solomon harmed Géza.
Realizing that another civil war was inevitable, the king and dukes launched negotiations to obtain the assistance of foreign powers. First, Ladislaus visited the Kievan Rus', but he returned without reinforcements. He then went to Moravia, and persuaded Duke Otto I of Olomouc to accompany him back to Hungary with Czech troops. By the time they returned to Hungary, the royal army had already invaded the duchy and routed Géza's troops at the Battle of Kemej on 26 February 1074. Ladislaus met his fleeing brother at Vác, and they decided to continue the fight against Solomon. A legend preserved in the Illuminated Chronicle mentions that before the battle, Ladislaus "saw in broad daylight a vision from heaven" of an angel placing a crown on Géza's head.The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 83.120), p. 123. Another legendary episode also predicted the dukes' triumph over the king: an "ermine of purest white" jumped from a thorny bush to Ladislaus's lance and then onto his chest.The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 85.121), p. 124. The decisive Battle of Mogyoród was fought on 14 March 1074. Ladislaus commanded "the troops from Byhor" on the left flank.The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 84.121), p. 124. Solomon was defeated, but instead of surrendering to his cousins, he fled to the western borders of the kingdom to seek assistance from his brother-in-law Henry IV of Germany.
Géza was proclaimed king, but Solomon established himself in Moson and Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). During his brother's reign, Ladislaus administered all of their father's former duchy. He repelled Solomon's attack on Nyitra (present-day Nitra, Slovakia) in August or September 1074, but he could not seize Pressburg. Ladislaus was also his brother's main advisor. Legend says that Géza decided to build a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin in Vác after Ladislaus explained the significance of the wondrous appearance of a red deer at the place where the church would be erected:
His reign
Consolidation (1077–1085)
Géza I died on 25 April 1077. Since Géza's sons, Coloman and Álmos, were minors, his supporters proclaimed Ladislaus king instead. Gallus Anonymus emphasizes that King Boleslaus II the Bold of Poland "drove out" Solomon "from Hungary with his forces, and placed [Ladislaus] on the throne"; Boleslaus even called Ladislaus "his king".The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles (ch. 27–28.), pp. 97–99. Although the Illuminated Chronicle emphasizes that Ladislaus "never placed the crown upon his head, for he desired a heavenly crown rather than the earthly crown of a mortal king", all his coins depict him wearing a crown, suggesting that Ladislaus was actually crowned around 1078.The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 93.131), p. 127. Shortly after his coronation, Ladislaus promulgated two law books, which incorporated the decisions of an assembly of the "magnates of the kingdom", held in Pannonhalma.Laws of King Ladislas I (Ladislas II:Preamble), p. 12. The majority of these laws were draconian measures to defend private property, showing that Ladislaus primarily focused on internal consolidation and security during the first years of his reign. Those who were caught stealing were to be executed, and even criminals who committed minor offenses against property rights were blinded or sold as slaves. His other laws regulated legal proceedings and economic matters, including the issuing of judicial summons and the royal monopoly on salt trade.
The Illuminated Chronicle claims that Ladislaus planned to "restore the kingdom" to Solomon and "himself have the dukedom", but almost all contemporaneous sources contradict this report. Ladislaus approached Pope Gregory VII, who was the primary opponent of Solomon's ally, Henry IV of Germany. At the Pope's request, Ladislaus sheltered Bavarian nobles who had rebelled against Henry. In 1078 or 1079, Ladislaus married Adelaide, a daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden, whom the German princes had elected to take the place of Henry IV as king. Ladislaus supported Leopold II, Margrave of Austria, who also rebelled against Henry IV; however, the German monarch forced Leopold to surrender in May 1078.
Taking advantage of the internal conflicts in the Holy Roman Empire, Ladislaus besieged and captured the fortress of Moson from Solomon in early 1079. However, Henry IV stormed the western regions of Hungary, and secured Solomon's position. The German invasion also prevented Ladislaus from assisting Boleslaus the Bold, who fled to Hungary after his subjects expelled him from Poland. Ladislaus initiated negotiations with Solomon, who abdicated in 1080 or 1081 in exchange for "revenues sufficient to bear the expenses of a king".The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 94.133), p. 128. However, Solomon soon began conspiring against Ladislaus, and Ladislaus imprisoned him.
The first five Hungarian saints, including the first king of Hungary, Stephen I, and Stephen's son, Emeric, were canonized during Ladislaus's reign. Stephen's canonization demonstrates Ladislaus's magnanimity, because Ladislaus's grandfather, Vazul, had been blinded on Stephen's orders in the 1030s. Historian László Kontler says that the canonization ceremony, held in August 1083, was also a political act, demonstrating Ladislaus's "commitment to preserving and strengthening" the Christian state. Ladislaus even dedicated a newly established Benedictine monasterySzentjobb Abbeyto Stephen's right arm, known as the "Holy Dexter", which was miraculously found intact. Ladislaus released Solomon at the time of the ceremony; legend said that Stephen's grave could not be opened until he did so.
After his release, Solomon made a final effort to regain his crown. He persuaded a Pecheneg chieftain, Kutesk, to invade Hungary in 1085. Ladislaus defeated the invaders at the upper courses of the Tisza River.
Expansion (1085–1092)
In August 1087, German princes who opposed Henry IV's rule held a conference in Speyer. The contemporaneous Bernold of St Blasien mentions that Ladislaus sent envoys to the meeting, and "promised that he would assist [them] with 20,000 knights, if it became necessary".Bernold of St Blasien, Chronicle (year 1087), p. 290. Ladislaus also recognized Pope Victor III as the legitimate pope, rather than Clement III, who had been elected pope at Henry IV's initiative. However, Ladislaus provided no further support to Henry IV's opponents after he was informed of Solomon's death in 1087. King Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia's wife, Helen, was Ladislaus's sister. After the death of Zvonimir and his successor, Stephen II, a conflict developed between factions of Croatian noblemen.